Tedder attachment for mowing-machines.



No. 865,607. v PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907.

J. P. OWINGS.

TEDDER ATTACHMENT FOR MOWING MACHINES.

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PATENTED SEPT. 10 1907..

J. P. owmes. T TBDDER ATTACHMENT FOR MOWING MACHINES APPLICATION FILEDMAR.12,1907.

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JAMES P. OWINGS, OF WEBSTER, KANSAS.

TEDDER ATTACHMENT FOR MOWING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1907.

Application filed March 12, 1907. Serial No. 361,999.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs P. OWINGS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Webster, in the county of Rooks and State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tedder Attachments forMowing-Machines, of which the following is a specilication.

The present invention relates to improvements in tedder-s of thattypewhich are designed to be attached to a mowing machine for thepurpose of thoroughly shaking up the hay immediately after cutting andthereby expediting the drying thereof.

The object of the invention has been to design a tedder of this typewhich can be readily attached to any conventional form of mowing machineand which is peculiarly designed so that the kickers or forks can bequickly swung into or out of operative position by a pivotal or rockingmovement of the frame upon which they are mounted.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and alsoto acquire a knowledge of the details of construction and the means foreffecting the result, reference is to be had to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the tedder attachment connected tothe frame of a mowing machine, the position of the forks when swung intoinoperative position being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a topplan view of the device. Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the forks.Fig. 4 is a detail view of the hinged joint between the supporting frameand the fork carrying frame Corresponding and like parts are referred toin the following description and indicated in all the views of thedrawings by the same reference characters.

The invention is designed to be employed in connection with anyconventional type of mowing machine such as that indicated at 1 upon thedrawings. The supporting frame 2 of the attachment is provided withforwardly extending draft bars 3, the extremities of which carry hookmembers 4 which are detachably engaged by eyes 5 upon the frame of themowing machine 1. In the specific construction of the supporting frame 2it will be observed that the same comprises a pair of end uprightmembers 6 connected by the transverse bars 7, the said uprights 6carrying bearings 8 Within which a shaft 9 is journaled. Sprocket wheels10 and 11 are mounted upon the opposite ends of the shaft 9, thesprocket wheel 10 being designed to either rotate loosely upon the shaftor be locked rigidly therewith by means of a clutch member 12, andreceiving motion through the medium of a chain or endless belt 13 from asprocket wheel 14 secured to one of the supporting wheels of the mowingmachine 1. Adjustably mounted upon each of the upright members 6 is abearing block 15 within which is journaled the stem 16 projectingupwardly from a fork 17, the said fork having the caster wheel 18mounted therein. It will thus be apparent that by vertically adjustingthe bearing block 15 upon the upright members 6 the height of thesupporting frame 2 can be adjusted to correspond to that of the mowingmachine with which the attachment is being employed.

The fork carrying frame 19 is pivotally attached to the supporting frame2 so as to have a swinging movement with respect thereto by means ofwhich the kickers or forks 20 can be moved into or out of operativeposition. In the specific construction of the fork carrying frame 19 itwill be observed that the same comprises two end standards 21 havingtheir lower ends hinged to the upper extremities of the uprights 6 ofthe supporting frame 2 as indicated at 22, while their upper ends arebent rearwardly and support the guide bar 23 which is provided with theopenings 24 through which the handles of the forks 20 extend. Thesestandards 21 may be rigidly connected in any suitable manner such as bythe transverse bars 25 and toward their lower ends are provided with thelaterally extending brackets 26 carrying the bearings within which thecompound crank shaft 27 is journaled. As shown in the drawings thesebrackets 26 are connected to the rearwardly extending portions of thestandards 21 by means of the braces 28.

Rigid with the crank shaft 27 is a sprocket wheel 29 which receivesmotion .from the before mentioned sprocket wheel 11 upon the shaft 9through the medium of a chain or belt 30. It will thus be apparent thatwhen the clutch member 12 is in such a position as to lock the sprocket10 to the shaft 9 motion will be transmitted to the compound crank shaft27 from one of the supporting wheels of the mowing machine and the forkswill thereby be given the usual kicking motion.

In order to provide for the tilting of the fork carrying frame 19 forthe purpose of raising the forks out of operative position, an operatinglever 31 is employed which is mounted upon one of the draft bars 3 andis connected to one of the standards 21 of the fork carrying framethrough the medium of a link member 327 This operating lever 31 carriesany conventional form of latch which engages with the rack 33 to lockthe lever in the required position. With this construction it will bereadily apparent that when the lever is pushed forwardly the forkcarrying frame is tilted in such a manner as to lift the forks out ofoperative position. A hand controlled mechanism 34 is also mounted uponone of the draft bars 3 for controlling the movements of the clutch 12and is preferably located adjacent the operating lever 31 so that anattendant can control both the kickers and the clutch mechanism from asingle position.

The fork handles are adjustably connected to the bearing blocks 35engaging the crank portions of the shaft 27 by means of U bolts 36, andit will be readily apparent that the said forks can thus be adjusted todig deeper or shallower as may be required. It may also be noted thatthe individual tines 37 of the forks 20 are detachably connected to thefork handle by any suitable means such as bolts and can therefore bereadily replaced should they he accidentally bent or broken.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of asupporting frame comprising upright members, a fork carrying framecomprising standards having the lower portions thereof pivotallyconnected to the uprights, forks mounted upon the fork carrying frame,and means for tilting the fork carrying frame to move the forks into orout of operative position.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of asupporting frame comprising a pair of uprights, a fork carrying framecomprising a pair of standards pivotally connected to the said uprights,a guide bar carried by the standards, brackets projecting from thestandards, a crank shaft journaled in the brackets. forks mounted uponthe crank shaft and engaging the guide bar, and means for transmittingmotion to the crank shaft.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of asupporting frame comprising uprights, a fork carrying frame comprisingstandards having their lower ends pivoted to the said uprights, whiletheir upper ends are curved rearwardly, a guide bar carried by the rear-Wardly curved ends of the standards, brackets carried by the standards,a crank shaft journaled in the brackets, forks mounted upon the crankshaft and engaging the guide bar, and means for imparting motion to thecrank Shaft:

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of asupporting frame comprising a pair of uprights, a shaft journaled uponthe uprights, means for transmitting motion to the shaft, a forkcarrying frame comprising standards having their lower ends pivoted tothe said uprights, brackets projecting from the standards, a crank shaftjournaled in the brackets, forks mounted upon the crank shaft andengaging the guide bar, and means for transmitting motion from the firstmentioned shaft to the crank shaft.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of asupporting frame comprising uprights, draft bars whereby the supportingframe can be connected to a mowing machine or the like, a fork carrying;frame having a hinged connection to the uprights of the supportingframe, forks mounted upon the fork carrying frame, and means for tiltingthe fork carrying frame to move the forks into or out of operativeposition.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnessesvJAMES P. OWINGS. [n J Witnesses C. E. .l'oxns, W. P. BnUIN.

